Spydus library management system

A complete solution for library management

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A complete cloud library management system, featuring a modern, user-centric discovery experience, mobile working, analytics, and fully integrated staff modules.

Our goal is to offer cutting-edge, user-centric features that will allow you to provide exceptional service to your library community. Key features include our discovery Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) with reader recommendations, mobile apps, and e-content integration for a single point of discovery.

For library employees, our focus is on providing a suite of backend features to improve operational efficiencies through our web-based applications. Library users enjoy a seamless and convenient experience.

Our flexible software supports strong consortium partnerships while preserving the individuality of local libraries. The cloud makes it easy to automate a range of processes, including inter-library loans, stock rotation and lending.

We heard your priorities when you spoke, and the result is Spydus.

Our library software and services support communities

Spydus is an industry-leading integrated library management system, used by more than 1,500 libraries around the world. Civica has been a trusted partner for many years, working with customers to deliver successful outcomes.

Key modules of Spydus Library Management System

In addition to providing the standard features expected of a traditional library management solution like user services, bibliographic management, purchasing and requests management, Spydus offers the following modern features:

  • Native mobile applications
  • Spydus APIs
  • eVendor integrations
  • Event Management
  • Business Analytics
  • Gamification
  • Book Group Management
  • Digital Asset Management

 

desktop library management spydus

Why choose Spydus library management:

Manages all resources, libraries, archives, digital content and events from a single database

Flexible consortium options enable customers to make savings on resources and operational costs

Empowers user to self-serve extending service availability, whilst reducing staff workload

A complete cloud optimised solution for library management

Spydus automates a complete range of library functions and is fully customisable to meet the needs of libraries of all types and sizes. Our customers include large consortia, public and government libraries, schools and higher education institutions.

TEiLA Accreditation 2019-2020

We’re proud to support CILIP, the UK’s library and information association. They work to improve services, develop members’ expertise and champion the sector.

cilip

Unique features

Mobile ready with responsive design

Spydus offers both responsive interfaces and mobile apps. For library staff, interfaces are accessible through web browsers, including tablets, extending library services beyond library walls.

For library patrons, our fully customizable OPAC is fully responsive so they can access their favourite library content on-the-go.

Patron discovery

The Spydus discovery OPAC draws both digital and physical items across core components into one seamless and unified search. It provides the library user with a personalised experience once they are logged in, providing loan and account details, alerts, title recommendations based on borrower profile and their borrowing history, as well as the ability to add reviews, link out to social media, update their details etc. Each library can customise the functionality and apply their branding to the OPAC. With modern libraries extending beyond physical spaces, the requirement for libraries to have the best tools to reach out to the wider community has become a necessity.

Staff modules

Spydus includes a responsive web design for the staff interface. This aims to provide an optimal viewing experience with easy reading and navigation, with a minimum of resizing and scrolling. This enables staff to have full access to all the functionality on the web clients from any device. The solution is one application, and one database, that manages a range of library functions, library content and various metadata standards. This ensures real time, single points of metadata entry, with internal linked data enabling staff quick links to browse the system.

Spydus provides a single web entry point to all modules, that can be accessed on any page. User access to modules and functionality within each module can be controlled via privileges to ensure secure access.

Personalised staff dashboard

Spydus Home streamlines the administration burden by making tasks simpler to complete. Spydus Home also acts as a communication tool, delivering updates and announcements in a timely and efficient manner and reducing the need to send multiple emails. It also streamlines workflows for ongoing library tasks such as approvals.

Event management

Event programming plays an important role in the service offering of the modern library. The Spydus Events module lets libraries manage and promote all types of events. Libraries can manage one-off events, recurring events, and a series of events such as for a festival. Events can be held in both physical spaces and online, and payments can be made for ticketed events. Events can be promoted via social media sharing tools such as Facebook, Twitter and email, and you can promote your events to the community or to specific library borrowers, e.g. through calendar invites.

Digital asset management

Digital Assets is a core component of the Spydus suite for both ordinary library collections and local history collections. Digital Assets catalogues and supports digital resources (including ebooks, journals, unpublished manuscripts, images, music, audiobooks, sound recordings and video content). For digital files held within the library or archive, Digital Assets provides its own comprehensive digital repository. Digital Asset resources can be linked to bibliographic MARC records or Archive and Artefact records and can be searched and accessed through the Spydus Integrated Discovery OPAC. Digital Assets does not require any predefined object taxonomy; Digital Assets creates its own virtual taxonomies using metadata associated with each digital object.

Book groups

Management of Book Groups and Clubs is made easy using Spydus Book Groups. Both registered library members and their guests can join and attend Book Groups, and staff can curate kits of Book Group materials for booking and loan by groups and clubs. As groups and clubs are handled differently within different libraries, the team at Civica worked with a group of Spydus users to create functionality flexible enough to handle different types of Book Groups.

Reading challenges

Gamify reading using Spydus Reading Challenges. Spydus Reading Challenges allows libraries to incentivise reading through the creation of trackable challenges available through the OPAC. Challenges can be based on lists of resources, topics or volume, and patrons can update their progress as they move through the challenge.

Business intelligence

SpydusBI is an interactive Business Intelligence tool utilising dashboards and charts to take the guess work out of library decision making. There are three modules within the SpydusBI suite that can be purchased by libraries:

SpydusManager - Uses the key elements within Spydus to create reports around borrowers, loans, reservations, charges, bookings, acquisitions, locations, items, notices, requests and events.

SpydusCollections - Provides an in-depth look at a library’s collection focusing on collection profiling, performance and maintenance tasks.

SpydusAnalytics - Aims to bring in range of data sources such as PC usage, Wi-Fi, door counts, OPAC searches, data from council systems etc. into a single interface to streamline reporting alongside Spydus data.

Reports can easily be visually represented via graphs and charts. All reports can be exported manually, or scheduled, to PDF, MS Excel, MS Word and other formats for easy sharing and dissemination.

Aside from having great data analytics capabilities, one of the product’s strengths is the availability of numerous options in presenting information. There are over 50 chart types and interactive options such as filter, drag and drop functionality as well as the ability to drill down and through different reports. Libraries can also enter their own KPIs and targets into reports.

E-content

Spydus e-content integration enables users to search, view availability, reserve and borrow e-resources in a single platform search. For streamlined reporting, loans statistics for these resources are captured within Spydus, and users can view their digital and physical loans in a single library account.

Electronic resource management

The Electronic Resource Management (ERM) module allows users to record and manage information about electronic and digital services such as access to third party databases and websites. Examples of what can be managed include licenses, terms and conditions, subscription period, vendor and order references, price etc.

Spydus mobile

This app is available for Android and iOS users.

  • Search and reserve items 
  • View loans, reservations, and payments
  • Update personal details 
  • Manage multiple library memberships
  • Download e-books, e-audio books, and magazines 
  • Save lists of favourite items for later 
  • “Discover” – reading lists, featured items, recommendations 
  • Use the camera to scan an ISBN in a bookstore to check if your library has copies 
  • Issue items within the library by scanning the library barcode – (if the library allows)
Spydus go

The SpydusGO mobile application for iOS and Android has been developed to facilitate flexibility in the delivery of a number of core library services and functions.

Features such as borrower registration, borrower validation, and loan issues and returns, allow roaming staff to perform general Circulation duties from the floor of the library, or from mobile library locations. Stocktake and Bulk Item Deletion functions allow staff to perform collection maintenance from the floor. The Events functions facilitate the marking of attendance for ticketed and non-ticketed Events, and review of upcoming Events.

Spydus API

The SpydusAPI is a RESTful HTTP Web, LCF compliant, API service that allows third party vendors to create both circulation-based staff applications and patron driven self-service software for interoperating with Spydus. Functionality includes patron authentication, retrieving patron information, check-out and check-in of items, renewal, reservations and charges.

Established consortium model

Our customers include the Scottish Consortium of Public Libraries (SCoPL), South East Library Management Systems (SELMS), Local Government Management Agency (LGMA), Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA), Suffolk Shared Partnership in the East (SPINE) and more.

Our approach to consortia is that libraries should have the option to maintain their unique identities yet be part of a wider shared service.

A key feature of Spydus is its ability to connect libraries. It enables them to share all resources across the consortium through members, loans, reservations and transfer of items, or simply a bibliographic database.

This capability enhances the library experience for both users and staff. For users it enables access to increased collections, and for staff, greater opportunities to develop and expand their roles and experience.

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